


Being Alone Together

by Eustacia Vye (eustaciavye)



Category: Firefly
Genre: F/M, Porn Battle
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-08-02
Updated: 2011-08-02
Packaged: 2017-10-22 03:39:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,399
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/233330
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eustaciavye/pseuds/Eustacia%20Vye
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>River was alone and feeling it. She never thought anyone else would feel that way, too.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Being Alone Together

River was sitting in the middle of one of her favorite hiding spots, an awkward position for anyone else. She was flexible and was used to sitting in cramped spaces like this, used to contorting herself in all sorts of ways to keep nimble and hidden. This had been one of many hiding places built into the cargo hold that came in handy for smuggling, but the crew of _Serenity_ was actually working on a legitimate job at the moment. It was a simple courier run, nothing to get anyone in trouble. The coordinates were laid in and the ship could fly itself to Persephone to make the drop.

She was feeling sorry for herself, truth be told. Everyone else had something to do, someone to be with. Mal had Zoe to talk about war and the ship and memories of love gone wrong or the deaths of comrades. Inara was occupied with work and was often gone. Kaylee and Simon were wrapped up in each other, the newness of everything making it shiny. Jayne had his exercise and his pin ups, his sarcastic comments and card games.

River was alone and feeling it, and she _hated_ it.

The banging over head startled her, and she blinked slowly. It took a moment, but the banging resolved itself into code. Grinning, River tentatively banged out a reply on the beam over her head. She laughed outright at getting a reply back.

She thought perhaps it was Simon. Or Kaylee. No one else had a sense of humor around her. They didn't say it, but she knew the others on the ship thought her strange and difficult to get along with. It wasn't her fault or theirs, but the Alliance had cut her apart and put her back together all kinds of wrong. There was no sense crying over it, really. She just had to figure out how to push forward and keep going; if she didn't, they won.

River was startled to see Jayne there, smacking the metal skin of the compartment with the butt of one of his guns. "I knew someone else would know Morse Code," he said, a pleased grin on his face. It was the first time she had seen him look at her like that, and appreciative awe for battle skills didn't count. He looked at her as if she mattered, as if she was a real girl, as if she was someone he could talk to or get to know.

It was humbling, and exactly what she had wanted.

"It is an ancient and esoteric means of communicating ideas," River said, stepping out of her hiding place and pushing the cover to her hiding spot back into place. "There are few at this juncture that would realize its utility."

"Huh. Fancy talk for saying them in command don't think of nothing else but the Cortex."

Blinking in surprise, River merely nodded. "Precisely."

"Thought so," Jayne said, mostly to himself. "Never had to track nobody when comm units short out or can't pick up a signal worth a damn. Sometimes the old ways are the best ones. I'll never go for those laser guns. Very unreliable." He smiled down at the pistol in his hands. "Treat the girls right, and they do right by you, too."

She had never had a reasonable conversation with Jayne before. It was startling to see that there was more depth to him than she had thought. "I am not trusted with such things."

"Yeah, well. Spouting _go se_ like you're still all _feng le_ doesn't help you none," Jayne told her reasonably. He tossed the pistol at her. "Here."

"You're giving me a gun?"

"Hell no. Borrowing it," he scoffed, shaking his head. "We're touching down on Persephone soon and you know Mal. Might have need for another gun hand, and you can aim true. Just don't go shooting nothing at me, _dong ma?"_

River tilted her head to the side, contemplating him. "This is a precious gift."

"I don't get my cut if Mal's dead, you know."

"There is more to you than just pay," she guessed.

"Huh," Jayne sniffed. "Don't make me regret borrowing you this."

"Loan," she corrected, reaching for him as he turned away from her. "You loaned me the gun..."

He collided bodily with her and she grabbed at him to keep her balance. Instead, they crashed to the floor. Jayne landed with a grunt. "I thought you was graceful," he grumbled.

"This was _your_ fault," she sniffed. River raised her hands to push him up, but decided he actually felt rather nice on top of her. Well, other than the buckle of his belt digging into her hip. She wiggled a bit to reposition herself, which rubbed her chest against his deliciously. Jayne let out a grunt, which made her stop. "What?"

 _That was kinda nice,_ he thought, and she could hear it clearly. He didn't want to admit that, however, and kept his mouth stubbornly shut. Barely able to repress a grin, she shimmied again. She liked the contact against him, liked the pressure of his leg between hers. River made a soft purring sound, and Jayne groaned a little in response. Though he could have easily gotten up, he didn't. If anything, he rested his hand on her hip to steady her.

She let herself smile at him, pleased. That gave her just enough resistance to keep rubbing up against him, his denim-covered thigh rough against the soft fabric of her underwear. River panted a little, digging her fingers into his shoulders as her body tightened a little. Jayne was watching her face, eye large as he tried not to make too much noise. He shifted his leg between hers, making her bite her lower lip to keep from crying out as a bolt of pleasure shot through her. "That feel good?" he said, voice sounding a little hoarse. She nodded, and he did it again.

River let her head fall back as she continued to move restlessly beneath him. Jayne kept moving his leg between hers, his own groin rubbing up against her as he moved. It was easier to lose herself in the sensation with her eyes closed, the pressure of his leg between hers, his erection against her hip and his rough hand holding her opposite hip. She liked the feel of his weight over her, his breath coming in warm puffs along her throat and the scent of him. She couldn't explain it; there was no way to describe it in any language she knew or in the theory of math and physics. On some level she understood pheromones and theories of attraction, but she hadn't experienced it before. There had never been time, and now she was realizing exactly what she had been missing.

Her movements were more frantic against him, making Jayne drop his head to her collarbone. He was making a soft whining noise deep in his throat, his own hips bucking against hers, his fingers tight and close to painful. He let out a grunt finally, hips stuttering to a stop. River kept moving, kept bucking beneath him until the pleasure broke over her. Breath rapid, River let her hands run down Jayne's back. She could feel the flex and pull of muscle beneath his shirt and wondered what it would be like to feel the bare skin.

"Can we do this again?" she asked softly, making him lift his head in surprise. She smiled almost shyly at him. "I like that feeling."

"Uh." Jayne blinked. "Huh. There's better, actually," he said after a moment.

"There is?"

"Well, yeah. That weren't nothing. I'm practically an expert at sexing."

River grinned up at him. "So when should we start testing that expertise?"

He laughed, not unkindly, and for once River felt as if she was part of something rather than on the outside looking in. "Damn, girl." He shook his head and rolled off of her. He helped her to her feet and watched her take up the fallen gun. Jayne scratched the back of his head uncertainly. "Depends on when's a good time, I guess. I'm not opposed or nothing."

River smiled at Jayne, pleased. Perhaps he didn't like being alone either. "Any time is acceptable for me. Like now, for instance."

Jayne laughed and extended his hand. "Then we best get started."


End file.
